Manchester United’s players put in a very focused performance against Bayern Munich and got a result they thoroughly deserved (Picture: AP)

After a long string of unfulfilled promises this season, Manchester United finally did give supporters ‘something to shout about’ as the English champions put in a brave display against arguably the best team in the world at the moment, Bayern Munich.

It was very much a backs to the wall task – the Bavarian giants consistently hovered around the 75 per cent mark for possession for the whole 90 minutes.

But Manchester United weren’t merely a defensive unit as Arjen Robben intimated after the full-time whistle – David Moyes’ side were, in fact, quite a threat through the pace and work rate of Danny Welbeck. He was unfortunate to have a fantastic individual goal disallowed early in the first half.

As the match progressed it was not at all difficult to see just why Bayern Munich are being heralded as the next great team of a generation. The ball was always on the move, every single player in the team knew exactly when and where to pick a pass.

Toni Kroos, in his role as a deep-lying holding midfielder, was superb even if it isn’t his most favoured position. The 24-year-old, who has been heavily linked with a summer move to Old Trafford, was the closest a player has come to Paul Scholes on the Old Trafford pitch since… Paul Scholes.

If United can put in as focused a performance as they did at home, they have a chance

Kroos’ head was always on a swivel, looking for the next three or four passes down the line. Admittedly, there wasn’t too much pressure put on him as an individual but he was still able to pick out the perfect pass on nine out of ten occasions.

Bayern Munich’s supporters contributed significantly to what was a fantastic atmosphere at Old Trafford (Picture: AP)

The pre-match talk was all about how Manchester United would be able to combat Bayern’s many offensive threats. However, Pep Guardiola gave United a certain amount of help in that regard by playing Thomas Muller as a centre forward – the German international was barely in the game. The much more nimble Mario Gotze would have given the ageing pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic more problems.

Alexander Buttner had the task of limiting Arjen Robben’s effectiveness from the right-hand side and the Dutch full-back was excellent.

Yet again the former Vitesse Arnhem defender didn’t let anybody down – Robben only got the better of him on a handful of occasions. The widespread levels of focus from both United’s defence and midfield were very important in never giving Bayern a free space to pass into.

It was a classic European evening at Old Trafford with both sets of supporters making it a memorable spectacle. Manchester United head to Munich next week knowing it will be difficult to go through, following Schweinsteiger’s excellently struck away goal, but contrary to many people’s pre-match prophecies United are still in the tie.

If they can put in as focused a performance as they did at home, they have a chance – the suspensions of Schweinsteiger and Martinez, as well as Thiago’s injury, certainly leaves Bayern with midfield worries.